OGLE COUNTY — In a word, Ogle County Farm Bureau Manager Ron Kern called the year that was 2023 “surprising” for farmers in Ogle County. 

After a drought hit the county over the summer of 2023, farmers were concerned for what yields harvest time would bring. Kern said on average, yields turned out to be “good to excellent,” performing “exceedingly better” than anyone anticipated. 

“Nobody wants to put in the time of planting a crop to end up with poor yields at the end of the year,” Kern said. “I think most farmers were just really pleasantly surprised with their final numbers. Regardless of what prices are, it’s always good to have a crop to sell at the end of the year. I think farmers were surprised and happy with the final numbers.”

As Ogle County farmers head into another year and planting season, Kern said he is hoping to see more moisture before April and May. He said moisture levels have been short for the past three years of weather in the area. 

Snowfall levels have been lower in Ogle County over the past few winters, including so far this season. 

“But we haven’t had any frost in the ground yet either this year,” Kern said. “At least the recent rain we've gotten in the last month or so has gone into the ground and recharged the topsoil. I’m sure at some point we’ll get cold enough to have frost. We've been able to pick up rain so far if it hasn't run off. Whether it’s rain or snow, we need to pick up our normal amount of moisture that we should be picking up for January through March.” 

Outside of the fields, Kern said commodity prices are still “sagging behind” and demand has been stagnant, impacting markets for farmers. Kern would like to see those situations improve in the coming months. 

The new year will see a new federal farm bill, which takes place every five years.

“Farmers need some security in a farm bill in order to have some type of feeling of security that they’re going to be able to farm without farming themselves out of business,” Kern said. “The crop insurance component in a farm bill is huge for producers these days. People need to understand that the crop insurance component has replaced all of the disaster programs and things like that of the past. Now you have the federal government and farmers as partners in this thing. Being able to take out crop insurance to be able to protect against disasters is huge for producers.”

The Illinois Farm Bureau recently elected a new president, Ogle County and Polo livestock farmer Brian Duncan, who brings years of farm bureau leadership experience at both the county and state levels.

“I think for all of our folks here locally in Ogle County, there’s a sense of pride in knowing that one of our own local farmers could ascend to this position to lead the largest farm organization in the state and one of the largest farm organizations in the country,” Kern said. “Brian has always been a critical thinker and a motivated leader. I think that his tenure with the IFB is going to help move the organization forward in a very positive way. And I think as an organization, we're fortunate to have a leader who is as hands-on and involved in the membership as Brian is going to be.”

Kern has a wishlist for Ogle County farmers that he would like to see at the start of 2024 ahead of planting season. 

“I’d love to see more moisture out in our fields,” Kern said. “We want to see more global demand for commodities to start pushing prices back up. I want to see fertilizer prices and fuel prices stay nice and low. Farmers today tend to pre-price inputs like fuel and fertilizer early in the year and lock in prices. I don't know what those contacts look like exactly. But if someone is contracting out fuel right now, the fact that prices have gone down lately is going to help. The price of fertilizer is also lower now than it was a couple of years ago. I would say it's stabilizing now.”

Workshop

The Young Leaders in Carroll, Ogle, Lee, Stephenson and Winnebago-Boone County Farm Bureaus are hosting Dr. Ron Hanson for a farm succession workshop on Feb. 29 at the White Pines Lodge. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. followed by Dr. Hanson’s presentation.

His program is titled “Avoiding the mistakes of a farm succession planning train wreck; and empowering families to succeed in farm succession.” His six-step program will guide you through the emotional pitfalls families face when deciding how to structure their succession plan for success.

Cost for the program is $50 per person. This program is open to farm bureau member families only in Carroll, Stephenson, Ogle, Lee and Winnebago Counties. Seats will be reserved for the first 125 who register.

To make your reservation either call the Ogle County Farm Bureau at 815-732-2231; or email cfb@ogle.comcastbiz.net

All reservations must be made no later than Feb. 15.